Top Notes 
Bergamot
Bitter orange
Lemon
Neroli
Pepper
Rosewood
Dormant Crumble
Heart Notes 
Amber
Ambergris
Benzoin
Jasmine
Lavender
Leather
Rose
Vodka
Base Notes 
Birch tar
Cedarwood
Musk
Patchouli
Vanilla
Kyanito
20 Reviews
Kyanito
2
A well-blended cologne undermined by marketing
If just to cover my hind: I don't doubt that invading a country is bad, but I doubt if raising pitchforks over a perfume is a good use of your energy.
Tl;dr: citrus/rosewood -> light leather -> cool, powdery florals -> floral/cedar base
The main things Russian about this cologne is its design and the addition of a vodka note. The box is huge and an enlarged version of the actual bottle design, as a homage to Matyroshka dolls. Both the box and bottle have a leather covering and has a furry top. You might have to be careful pulling the top off the bottle.
The initial spray is a spicy citrus- with a few moments of smelling a little like natural insecticide. This mainly comes from a rosewood note: I've used rosewood EOs plenty when I start up my aroma diffuser. The sharp note subsides quite quickly, and gives way to a light cool leather accord. I think this is mainly where the vodka note comes in: apart from the coolness, there's a residual hint of citrus here.
Florals start showing up at the hour to hour and a half mark with a mildly powdery texture. It's comparable to Orpheon, but the powder is more subdued. This takes up the main body of the drydown, with a undertone of cedar and patchouli. It's very comfortable, and a Rasei Fort staple, if you've tried his other works and those in Fort and Manle.
Overall, I think people expecting an ultra-masculine leather/tobacco/vodka combination may not expect this to be a light unisex, elegant affair that has potential to be worn for most seasons. It is more cologne than Russian after all, and therefore has most of the components you would expect from a chypre. Sillage is moderate, and longevity can reach 6 hours. Its higher price is balanced by its large volume (210mls), so for someone like me who doesn't have a proper chypre yet, it was worth pulling the trigger over.
Tl;dr: citrus/rosewood -> light leather -> cool, powdery florals -> floral/cedar base
The main things Russian about this cologne is its design and the addition of a vodka note. The box is huge and an enlarged version of the actual bottle design, as a homage to Matyroshka dolls. Both the box and bottle have a leather covering and has a furry top. You might have to be careful pulling the top off the bottle.
The initial spray is a spicy citrus- with a few moments of smelling a little like natural insecticide. This mainly comes from a rosewood note: I've used rosewood EOs plenty when I start up my aroma diffuser. The sharp note subsides quite quickly, and gives way to a light cool leather accord. I think this is mainly where the vodka note comes in: apart from the coolness, there's a residual hint of citrus here.
Florals start showing up at the hour to hour and a half mark with a mildly powdery texture. It's comparable to Orpheon, but the powder is more subdued. This takes up the main body of the drydown, with a undertone of cedar and patchouli. It's very comfortable, and a Rasei Fort staple, if you've tried his other works and those in Fort and Manle.
Overall, I think people expecting an ultra-masculine leather/tobacco/vodka combination may not expect this to be a light unisex, elegant affair that has potential to be worn for most seasons. It is more cologne than Russian after all, and therefore has most of the components you would expect from a chypre. Sillage is moderate, and longevity can reach 6 hours. Its higher price is balanced by its large volume (210mls), so for someone like me who doesn't have a proper chypre yet, it was worth pulling the trigger over.
Updated on 11/14/2024
